DOCSLIB.ORG

Early Alfonsine Astronomy in Paris: the Tables Ofjohn Vimond (1320)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Early Alfonsine Astronomy in Paris: the Tables Ofjohn Vimond (1320) Early Alfonsine Astronomy in Paris: The Tables ofJohn Vimond (1320) José Chabás and Bemard R.. Goldstein lt has beco clear for many years lhat medieval European astronomy in Latin \Vas heavily dependent 00 sources from the Iberian península, primarily in Arable, bUI also in Hebrew, Castilian, and Catalan. The Castilian Alfonsine Tables, compiled by Judah ben Moses ha.cohen and Isaac ben Sid under the patronage of Alfonso X (d. 1284), weTe ao importanl vehicle for the transmission of this body of knowledge lO astronomers north of the Pyrenees, bUI the delails of Ihis transmission remain elusive, in part because only the canaos lO these tables survive (sec Chabás and Goldstein 2003a). In Ihis paper we build 00 OUT preliminary studies of a figure who previously had barely beco mentioned in the receot literature 00 medieval astronorny (Chabás and Goldstein 2oo3a, pp. 267­ 277, and 2003b). John Virnond was active in Paris ca. 1320 and, as we shall see, his tables have much in common with Ihe Parisian Alfonsine Tables (produced by a group in Paris, notably John of Murs and 10hn of Ligneres), bu! differ from them in many significant ways. As far as we can tell, there is no evidence for any interaction between Vimond and his better known Parisian contemporaries and in our view the best hypothesis is that they al1 depended on Castilian sources. As a result of our analysis, we are persuaded that Vimond's tables are an intelligent reworking of previous astronomical material in the Iberian peninsula to a greater extent than is the case for the Toledan Tables (compiled in Toledo about 2 centuries before the Castilian Alfonsine Tables). It is most likely that Vimond's principal source was the Castilian version of the Alfonsine Tables. Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France, MS lal. 7286C is a 14th· century manuscript containing an unusual sel of tables (ff. Ir-8v) as well Suhayl4 (2004) 208 J, Chabás and B. R. Goldstein as the canaos and tables of 1322 by John of Ligneres (ff. 9r~58r). In a brief text al the end of the first sel of tables they are attributed lo John Vimond (Iohannes Vimundus), an astronomcr who compiled them "for the use ofstudents at the University of París" (f. Bv): El ill hoc termillalur opus /ohannis Vimundi baiocellsis dyocesis de disposicionibus plalletarum el ste//arum fixarum; el cum istis sequitur de hiis que per ipsum ordinantur ad cOllversionem temporum verorum el equalium sociatorum, el de disposicionibus eclipsalibus solis el lime sibi pertil1entibus, el de aliis disposiciollibus ipsorum el aliorum corporum celestium, ad u/nitatem seolarium universitatis parisiensis el offlnium a/ionllll. Here ends the \Vork by John Vimond of the diocese of Bayeux on the dispositions of the planets and Ihe fixed stars; (... ) and on the dispositions of solar and lunar eclipses and [other syzygies] corresponding to them, and on the orher dispositions ofthese and other celestial bodies, for the use of students at rhe University of Paris and a11 others. The complete set of Vimond's lables are uniquely extant in this manuscript, and no canons for them have been identified. They are a coherent set of tables with a11 the elements needed to compute the positions of the celestial bodies, much in the tradition of the Arabic zijes and their derivatives. The exact date of composition of Vimond's tables is not given in the text, but they were probably produced shortly before 1320. In the paragraph preceding his tables, Vimond tells us that they were compiled for Paris with 1320 as epoch (f. Ir: see below) and this date is confinned by recomputation. These tables also include a calendar with the dates ofsyzygies: this strongly suggests that they were constructed prior to the year of the calendar because lhe astronomical information would no longer be of any use after the year had passed. However, the calendar poses special problems which will be discussed below. Vimond's only other known work is a short treatise on the constrUClion of an aSITonomical instrument, extant in Erfurt, MS CA 2° 377 (fr. 21r-22r), beginning Planicelium vero componitur ex eis que su"t diversorum operum.", and ending Explicit tractaius johannis vimundi... in a manuscript containing vatious works by other Parisian astronomers Early Alfonsine ASlrollolllY in Paris: The Tables o[Johll VimOlld (J 320) 209 such as Joho of Murs aod Joho of Ligneres (Thorndike and Kibre 1963, coL 1050; Saby 1987, pp. 471, 474). John Vimood aod his works were seldom meotiooed by his cootemporaries. However, io Vaticao, Biblioteca Apostolica, MS OUob. lat. 1826, we are told that Joho of Spira (14th ceotury), the author of a cornmentary on Joho of Ligoeres caoons (Thorndike aod Kibre 1963, col. 204), composed his own caooos to several oC Vimood's tables (for a descriptioo ofthis maouscripl, especial1y fe. 148-153, see F. S. Pederseo 2002, p. 177). This manuscript ineludes a text that begios on e. 148ra ascribed lo a certain M. J. c., Canon tabulae sequentis quae inlilulatur tabula lIIotus diversi solis et lunae in una hora el semidiametrorum secllllllum labulas Alfonsi, at the eod ofwhich Joho Vimood is mentioned. 00 the other hand, Vimond is nol menlioned in Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional, MS 4238, a manuscript containing a few tables that can be altribuled to him, as well as a copy of Ihe Parisian Alfonsine Tables compuled for Morella (io the provioee of Valencia) for the years 1396 and 1400 (Chabás 2000). As far as we can tell, Joho of Murs aod Joho of Ligneres do not refer to Vimond at a11 in any of their numerous works, but it seems implausible that they did not know him or his work which was addressed to !he sludents at the University oC Pans. Indeed, there were not so many competent astronomers working in Paris around 1320 aod both Vimood and Murs carne from the same regian, Nannaody, from places about 70 km apart, Bayeux and Lisieux, respectively. We wauld expeet Vimond to be wen known aod frequeot1y cited by practitiooers of astraoomy, for he is oamed as one of the outstanding astronomcrs of his time by Simon de Phares in his Recueil des plus celebres aSlrologues (1494--1498), a chrooologically ordered list with comments, edited by Boudet (1997-1999, 1:467). In faet, Vimond is mentioned before John oC Ligneres, John of Saxony, Joho of Janua, aod Joho ofMurs: Maistre Jehan Vymond fut a Paris, }¡omme moult singulier el granl aSlrologien, lequel eut en ce temps grant cours pour la sciellce des estoilles. Entre ses euvres, jist ulle verifficacioll de la conjU1/Clion des lu[mi]naires, al/ssi des eclipses el eSlOil!es fixes pour plusieurs ans. Ceslui predist les grans vellS qui Juren! en son lemps el jiSI plusiellrs beaulx jugemens, donl il acquist gran/ loz el renommee en Frallce el fw moltlt devos! en Noslre Seiglleur. 210 1. Chabás and B. R. Goldstein Master John Vimond ¡ived in Patis, a most singular man and a great astrologer, who had at that time much prestige because oC (his knowledge oi) the science of the stars. Among his work:s is a verification afthe conjunction ofthc iuminaries, as we1] as eclipses and the fixcd stars, for many years. He predicted the great winds which took place in his time and marle many fine judgments for which he acquired great praise and renown in France and he was most devoted to our Lord. The "verifficacion de la conjunction des lu[mi]naires" refers to Vimond's tables. These tables are arranged very differently from those of his Parisian contemporaries and are based, in part, on parameters 1hat probably. carne [rom the Castilian Alfonsine Tables or a tradition c10sely associated with them. Of special interest is the proper molion of the solar and planetary apogees, a feature previously unknown in medieval tables produced outside Spain and North Africa. We are convinced that Vimond's tables provide an indication of the arrival in Paris of new astronomical material coming from Castile, in the sense that they propose new approaches to replace those based on the Toledan Tables and developed al the end of the 13th century by astronomcrs working in Paris such as Peter Nightingale, Geoffreoy ofMeaux, and WiIliam ofSt.-Cloud. Furiher, we believe that Vimond's tables are prior to, and independent of, the tabular work developed in the early 14th century, which we call the Parisian Alfonsine Tables, by the group of Parisian astronomers that included John of Murs and John of Ligneres, which were also based on Castilian sources. Vimond's tables and the Parisian Alfonsine Tables have many parameters in conunon both for mean motions and equations. In principie, it is possible that one set oftables depended on the other, but the differences between them suggest to us that it is far more likely that they depended on a cornmon source. Moreover, ifVimond composed his tables prior to 1320, he did so before any datable text of the Parisian Alfonsine Tables. A description and analysis of Vimond's tables follow. f. Ir The first numerical infonnation given in this set of tables is the "radix for mean conjunctions of the Sun and the Moon": 13;54,54d. In modem tenninology, the initial time for a set oftables is called its "epoch" whereas its "radices" are the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, etc., at Ear/y A1foflSi,.~ Astronomy in Pori$: T1r~ Tobles o[Joh,. Yimond (JJ20) 211 that time. The medieval convention, however, is to use "radix" for both the time and the position. \Ve are convinced that the author refers to the time, in Pans, orthe mean conjunction on March lO, 1320.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Ramiz Daniz the Scientist Passed Ahead of Centuries – Nasiraddin Tusi
    Ramiz Daniz Ramiz Daniz The scientist passed ahead of centuries – Nasiraddin Tusi Baku -2013 Scientific editor – the Associate Member of ANAS, Professor 1 Ramiz Daniz Eybali Mehraliyev Preface – the Associate Member of ANAS, Professor Ramiz Mammadov Scientific editor – the Associate Member of ANAS, Doctor of physics and mathematics, Academician Eyyub Guliyev Reviewers – the Associate Member of ANAS, Professor Rehim Husseinov, Associate Member of ANAS, Professor Rafig Aliyev, Professor Ajdar Agayev, senior lecturer Vidadi Bashirov Literary editor – the philologist Ganira Amirjanova Computer design – Sevinj Computer operator – Sinay Translator - Hokume Hebibova Ramiz Daniz “The scientist passed ahead of centuries – Nasiraddin Tusi”. “MM-S”, 2013, 297 p İSBN 978-9952-8230-3-5 Writing about the remarkable Azerbaijani scientist Nasiraddin Tusi, who has a great scientific heritage, is very responsible and honorable. Nasiraddin Tusi, who has a very significant place in the world encyclopedia together with well-known phenomenal scientists, is one of the most honorary personalities of our nation. It may be named precious stone of the Academy of Sciences in the East. Nasiraddin Tusi has masterpieces about mathematics, geometry, astronomy, geography and ethics and he is an inventor of a lot of unique inventions and discoveries. According to the scientist, America had been discovered hundreds of years ago. Unfortunately, most peoples don’t know this fact. I want to inform readers about Tusi’s achievements by means of this work. D 4702060103 © R.Daniz 2013 M 087-2013 2 Ramiz Daniz I’m grateful to leaders of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic for their material and moral supports for publication of the work The book has been published in accordance with the order of the “Partner” Science Development Support Social Union with the grant of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic Courageous step towards the great purpose 3 Ramiz Daniz I’m editing new work of the young writer.
    [Show full text]
  • The Persian-Toledan Astronomical Connection and the European Renaissance
    Academia Europaea 19th Annual Conference in cooperation with: Sociedad Estatal de Conmemoraciones Culturales, Ministerio de Cultura (Spain) “The Dialogue of Three Cultures and our European Heritage” (Toledo Crucible of the Culture and the Dawn of the Renaissance) 2 - 5 September 2007, Toledo, Spain Chair, Organizing Committee: Prof. Manuel G. Velarde The Persian-Toledan Astronomical Connection and the European Renaissance M. Heydari-Malayeri Paris Observatory Summary This paper aims at presenting a brief overview of astronomical exchanges between the Eastern and Western parts of the Islamic world from the 8th to 14th century. These cultural interactions were in fact vaster involving Persian, Indian, Greek, and Chinese traditions. I will particularly focus on some interesting relations between the Persian astronomical heritage and the Andalusian (Spanish) achievements in that period. After a brief introduction dealing mainly with a couple of terminological remarks, I will present a glimpse of the historical context in which Muslim science developed. In Section 3, the origins of Muslim astronomy will be briefly examined. Section 4 will be concerned with Khwârizmi, the Persian astronomer/mathematician who wrote the first major astronomical work in the Muslim world. His influence on later Andalusian astronomy will be looked into in Section 5. Andalusian astronomy flourished in the 11th century, as will be studied in Section 6. Among its major achievements were the Toledan Tables and the Alfonsine Tables, which will be presented in Section 7. The Tables had a major position in European astronomy until the advent of Copernicus in the 16th century. Since Ptolemy’s models were not satisfactory, Muslim astronomers tried to improve them, as we will see in Section 8.
    [Show full text]
  • Theme 4: from the Greeks to the Renaissance: the Earth in Space
    Theme 4: From the Greeks to the Renaissance: the Earth in Space 4.1 Greek Astronomy Unlike the Babylonian astronomers, who developed algorithms to fit the astronomical data they recorded but made no attempt to construct a real model of the solar system, the Greeks were inveterate model builders. Some of their models—for example, the Pythagorean idea that the Earth orbits a celestial fire, which is not, as might be expected, the Sun, but instead is some metaphysical body concealed from us by a dark “counter-Earth” which always lies between us and the fire—were neither clearly motivated nor obviously testable. However, others were more recognisably “scientific” in the modern sense: they were motivated by the desire to describe observed phenomena, and were discarded or modified when they failed to provide good descriptions. In this sense, Greek astronomy marks the birth of astronomy as a true scientific discipline. The challenges to any potential model of the movement of the Sun, Moon and planets are as follows: • Neither the Sun nor the Moon moves across the night sky with uniform angular velocity. The Babylonians recognised this, and allowed for the variation in their mathematical des- criptions of these quantities. The Greeks wanted a physical picture which would account for the variation. • The seasons are not of uniform length. The Greeks defined the seasons in the standard astronomical sense, delimited by equinoxes and solstices, and realised quite early (Euctemon, around 430 BC) that these were not all the same length. This is, of course, related to the non-uniform motion of the Sun mentioned above.
    [Show full text]
  • The Diffusion of the Alfonsine Tables: the Case of the Tabulae Resolutae
    The Diffusion of the Alfonsine Tables: The case of the Tabulae resolutae José Chabás University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/posc/article-pdf/10/2/168/1789147/106361402321147513.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 The Alfonsine Tables were compiled during the second half of the 13th cen- tury in Toledo, Spain, and were largely diffused throughout Europe, mainly via Paris. They became the basic computing tool for European astronomers during several centuries. The Tabulae resolutae are a particular form of presenting the Alfonsine material which differs in many ways from that in the ªrst printed edition of the Alfonsine Tables (Venice, 1483). This paper focuses on the inºuence of the 15th century Viennese astronomer John of Gmunden on the genesis of the Tabulae resolutae, and analyses its contents and impact on European astronomy. 1. The Tabulae resolutae is a set of astronomical tables that circulated widely in Europe during the 15th century in manuscript form, and as printed books during the 16th century. They are strictly based in the Alfonsine Tables; moreover, they are a particular form of presenting the Alfonsine Tables which largely differs from that in the editio princeps (Venice, 1483). The most visible difference is that the Tabulae resolutae maintain the sys- tem of cyclical radices with intervals of 20 years that is explained in can- ons to the Castilian Alfonsine Tables, rather than the organization in days to be counted sexagesimally, as in the editio princeps. The history of the Alfonsine Tables is well known. Two centuries earlier King Alfonso X of Castile and León, called the Learned, gathered at his court a group of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian scholars.
    [Show full text]
  • Remarks on Two Dimensional Array Tables in Latin Astronomy: a Case Study in Layout Transmission
    Remarks on two dimensional array tables in Latin astronomy: a case study in layout transmission Matthieu Husson Abstract: Several aspects of astronomical tables can be transmitted from one source to another: numerical parameters, underlying functions and theoretical models, computational methods, etc. The concern here will be on the transmission of layout. We will study how a certain family of layouts was used in European Latin astronomies after its transmission from Arabic sources. Three different stages of the circulation of this layout will be identified: first transmission, assimilation and innovation. Moreover we will see how two distinct uses of the layout will finally converge in the compilation of large trigonometric tables in the 15th and 16th centuries. Keywords: Astronomy, transmission, tables, layout. 1. Introduction: Defining the object and issues of the case study Numerical tables in general and astronomical tables in particular are complex and multilayered objects. Several aspects of astronomical tables can be transmitted from one source to another: numerical parameters, underlying functions and theoretical models, computational methods, degree of precision, etc. The concern here will be on the transmission of layout. We will study how a certain family of layouts was used in European Latin astronomies after its transmission from Arabic sources. Beyond this examination lie more general historical questions. Analysing layout transmission is an opportunity to understand the different meanings a table layout may have according to the Suhayl 13 (2014), pp. 103-117 104 Matthieu Husson diverse users be they rulers, astronomers, or practitioners. In this study we will focus mainly on the astronomers' perspective. We will see how the layout of the tables is closely linked to a set of computational techniques and to certain representations of numbers.
    [Show full text]
  • Solar and Lunar Velocities in the Alfonsine Tables
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Elsevier - Publisher Connector Historia Mathematics 7 (1980) 134-140 SOLAR AND LUNAR VELOCITIES IN THE ALFONSINE TABLES BY BERNARD R. GOLDSTEIN UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH, PITTSBURGH, PA, AND INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY, PRINCETON. NJ SUMMARIES Although not previously noticed, the solar and lunar velocity tables in the 1483 edition of the dl- fonsine Tables differ from the corresponding tables in the 1518 edition (Venice) which are identical to those that appear in the Toledan Tables and the zij of al-Battzny. The velocity tables in the unpublished Hebrew version of the dlfonsine Tables, composed in 1460 (dvignon), agree with the 1483 edition, and the Hebrew translator tells us that these tables (together with some others) were added to the Alfonsine Tables by Christian scholars after the time of Alfonso. A discussion .of the underlying parameters is also pre- sented. Personne n'a observe que l'&dition de 1483 des tables alphonsines contient une table des v&locit& solaires et lunaires qui differe de la table corre- spondante de l'edition de 1518 (Venise) qui est iden- tique 2 celles des tables de Tolkde et 2 celle du zIj d'al-BattZn?. La table des velocitks de la version h&bralque des tables alphonsines, composee en 1460 (dvignon), s'accorde avec l'edition de 1483, et l'auteur de la version hebrai'que nous dit que des savants chrgtiens post&ieurs a l'&poque d'dlphonse ont ajoutg cette table (et d'autres aussi) aux tables alphonsines.
    [Show full text]
  • Computing Planetary Positions: User-Friendliness and the Alfonsine Corpus
    JHA, xliv (2013) COMPUTING PLANETARY POSITIONS: USER-FRIENDLINESS AND THE ALFONSINE CORPUS JOSÉ CHABÁS, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, and BERNARD R. GOLDSTEIN, University of Pittsburgh Astronomical tables are ways to turn the treatment of complex problems into elemen- tary arithmetic. Since Antiquity astronomers have addressed many problems by means of tables; among them stands out the treatment of planetary motion as well as that for the motions of the Sun and the Moon. It was customary to assign to the planets constant mean velocities to compute their mean longitudes at any given time in the past or the future, and to add to these mean longitudes corrections, called equations, to determine their true longitudes. In this paper we restrict our attention to the five planets,1 with an emphasis on their equations. Section 1 deals with what we call the standard tradition, beginning with Ptolemy’s Handy tables, and Section 2 deals with the new presentations that proliferated in Latin Europe in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, some of which reflect a high level of competence in mathemati- cal astronomy.2 1. The Standard Tradition By the middle of the second century a.d. Ptolemy displayed tables for the equations of the five planets with specific layouts and based on specific models, algorithms, and parameters. We argue that this category of tables, as is the case for many others, provides a clear example of user-friendliness, the driving force that prevailed in the history of table-making. In Almagest XI.11 Ptolemy presented tables for the planetary equations, one for each of the five planets.3 Each table has eight columns, of which the first two are for the argument (one from 6º to 180º and the other for its complement in 360º).
    [Show full text]
  • The Assignment Is Below
    14a Information: Here is a rough outline of the types of medieval astro-nomers-logers back in the Middle Ages A-List: The most proficient astronomers/astrologers knew and understood astronomical theory. They understood all the crazy spherical geometry... the excentrics, the equants, the epicycles, the spherical geography, etc. These would have been a few high-level university professors and a few highly educated professionals (typically employed by royalty). This class would have worked from actual observational data and been able to fit that data into some sort of mathematical scheme. These were the theoretical heavyweights. In the Middle Ages most of these A-Listers would have been Muslims, people like al- Tusi and Thabit bin Qurrah. These A-Listers are comparable to people like Kepler, Newton, Einstein, and Hawking. B-List: The next class down would be the university-level astronomer/astrologer professor. These people wouldn't usually work from raw observational data. This class would work from the Alfonsine Tables (or similar). They wouldn't really know how the raw data of celestial observation became codified into the Alfonsine Tables, but they would understand the general theory and would know how to use the Alfonsine Tables to figure out where a particular heavenly body was (or would be) at a given time and at a given place. They could apply the theory, but didn't actually come up with the theory. This class of astro- nomer-loger corresponds to the vast majority of professors who teach astronomy today. They don't come up with cutting edge theory, but they can work within the current theory just fine.
    [Show full text]
  • Tijdschrift 265 Feestrede G
    14 december 1974 jaargang 40 nederlands Inhoud II Mededelingen Agenda Binnenland Buitenlandse congressen Correspondentie tijdschrift 265 Feestrede G. Klein 267 Greek observational astronomy before Ptolemaios by Frans Bruin voor 271 Astronomical observations and instruments of Islam, idem 276 Boekbesprekingen Personalia hart index '73 natuurkunde 19 0 000 0 0 0 0 0 I-1- - - -- - · fl- -I- Q« « 14 ra nonZA 4 «0 « 1 m O O e Redactie: / rt . ir Hoofdredacteur: Dr. ir. H. van Krugten, ad interim BP n Redacteuren b. 1. ' Dr. H. J. A. Bluyssen (instrumentatie), C drs. J. G. Bonenkamp (onderwijs), dr. H. G. M. Heideman (boekrecencies). Phy- (f#A sisch laboratorium, Sorbonnelaan 4 St»li. t 1- Utrecht, dr. J. Polman (algemeen), prof. ,/%7 dr. Ph. B. Smith. Redactieraad: -\ ,/.- Prof. Dr. L. J. F. Broer, Prof. Dr. A Dynamus, Dr. J. Fahrenfort, Dr. Ir. H. M. 1 A. Ferdinande, Prof. Dr. L. van Gerven d»53» Dr, P. W. M. Glaudemans, Prof. Dr. S. R. t-tolot: 12&5'- :itastteoloe ro H. F. Vrehen, Prof. Dr. H. de Waard, Prof. Dr. R. van Wageningen, Prof. Dr. A. H. Wapstra, Prof. Dr. Ir. W. J. Witteman. Redactiesecretariaat: Drs. R. E. Kisman, Stichting Uitgeverij Sigma Chemie, Post- bus 1767, Den Haag, Telefoon 646915*. Artikelen, korte mededelingen, actualitei- _ -,t -1 ten op fysisch gebied en varia kunnen - f worden gezonden aan de redactiesecreta- ris. -==» Aankondigingen van lezingen, vergaderin- gen, congressen e.d. uitsluitend bestemd Voor het Iange kerstreces: twee artikelen van Frans Bruin over astronomie, toepasselijker voor 'Agenda binnenland', zende men aan kan het niet. Het eerste gaat over de resultaten die de oude Grieken behaalden op dit de Stichting Uitgeverij Sigma Chemie, gebied, waarbij zowel de Ioniirs als de Alexandriijrs aan de orde komen.
    [Show full text]
  • The Astronomy and Cosmology of Copernicus
    The Astronomy and Cosmology of Copernicus t was close to the northernmost coast of Europe, in the city of Torun, that the King of Poland and the Teutonic Knights signed I and sealed the Peace of 1466, which made West Prussia part of Polish territory. And it was in that city, just seven years later and precisely 500 years ago, in 1473, that Nicholas Copernicus was born. We know relatively few biographical facts about Copernicus and vir- tually nothing of his childhood. He grew up far from the centers of Renaissance innovation, in a world sti11largely dominated by medieval patterns of thought. But Copernicus and his contemporaries lived in an age of exploration and of change, and in their lifetimes they put to- gether a renewed picture of astronomy and geography, of mathematics and perspective, of anatomy, and of theology. I When Copernicus was ten years old, his father died, but fortunately his maternal uncle stepped into the breach. Uncle Lucas Watzenrode was then pursuing a successful career in ecclesiastical politics, and in 1489 he became Bishop of Varmia. Thus Uncle Lucas could easily send Copernicus and his younger brother to the old and distinguished University of Cracow. The Collegium Maius was then richly and un- usually endowed with specialists in mathematics and astronomy; Hart- mann Schedel, in his Nuremberg Chronicle of 1493, remarked that "Next to St. Anne's church stands a university, which boasts many Selection 9 reprinted from Highlights in Astronomy of the International Astronomical Union, ed. by G. Contopoulos, vol. 3 (1974), pp. 67-85. 162 ASTRONOMY AND COSMOLOGY OF COPERNICUS eminent and learned men, and where numerous arts are taught; the study of astronomy stands highest there.
    [Show full text]
  • Astronomy and Astrology the I S As Tronomy and Astrology
    Surveys the contributions of Islamic astronomers and mathematicians to the development of astronomy and astrology THE I AS TRONOMY AND TRONOMY It was the astronomers and mathematicians of the Islamic world who S provided the theories and concepts that paved the way from the geocentric LAM theories of Claudius Ptolemy in the second century AD to the heliocentric I breakthroughs of Nicholas Copernicus and Johannes Kepler in the C WORLD sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Algebra, the Arabic numeral system and trigonometry: all these and more originated in the Muslim East and undergirded an increasingly accurate and sophisticated understanding of the movements of the Sun, Moon and planets. This non-technical overview ASTROLOGY of the Islamic advances in the heavenly sciences allows the general reader to appreciate (for the first time) the absolutely crucial role that Muslim scientists played in the overall development of astronomy and astrology in the Eurasian world. Key Features IN • The first accessible, non-technical history of Islamic astronomy and astrology • Surveys the major advances in the heavenly sciences from Isfahan, Maragha and Samarqand from the seventh to the sixteenth centuries • Shows the impact of astronomy and astrology on individuals and institutions • Looks at the influence of almanacs and horoscopes in the Mughal, Ottoman and Safavid Empires • Considers the ways Islamic astronomy and astrology shaped beliefs and practices in the medieval and early modern Islamic and European worlds STEPHEN Stephen P. Blake is Associate Professor Emeritus at St Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota. His books include Time in Early Modern Islam: Calendar, Ceremony, and Chronology in the Safavid, Mughal, and Ottoman Empires (2013), Shahjahanabad: The Sovereign City in Mughal India, 1639–1739 (2002) and Half the World: The Social Architecture of STEPHEN P.
    [Show full text]
  • The Toledan Tables in Castilian: Excerpts of the Planetary Equations
    The Toledan Tables in Castilian: Excerpts of the Planetary Equations José Chabás Keywords: astronomical tables, planetary equations, technical terminology (Castilian), Toledan Tables. Abstract A recently recovered bifolio consisting of four pages contains excerpts of tables for the equations of the planets with headings in Castilian. Analysis of its contents, both astronomical and terminological, indicates that in all likelihood these excerpts represent parts of the Toledan Tables, and offer the first evidence for a copy of them in Castilian. The General Archive of Navarre preserves an uncatalogued bifolio, once used in the binding of a book belonging to the shoemakers’ and tailors’ guild of Pamplona, Navarre, probably in the 16th century. The handwriting of this bifolio seems from the 14th century, although it has been dated to the 14th or 15th centuries, as indicated by Fernando Serrano, the first scholar to call attention to this bifolio, in his short and accurate description of it.1 The bifo- lio contains valuable astronomical material: excerpts of tables for the plane- tary equations with titles and headings in Castilian. It will be argued here that these excerpts provide the first evidence for a copy of the Toledan Tables in Castilian. 1 See Serrano 2009, pp. 549–552. Suhayl 11 (2012), pp. 179-188 180 J. Chabás 1. The four pages in the two folios contain a fragmentary copy of the planetary equations for Saturn, Venus, and Mercury. Two pages display entries for Saturn for arguments from 45;30º to 135;0º, one page for Venus from 135;30º to 180º, and another page for Mercury from 0;30º to 45;0º.
    [Show full text]